YvSLa- 


■F' 


:t. 


^0  Vl  v^  t.:  O  k'i 


cylFRoICA 

REPORT  TO  THE 
BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


NOVEMBER^)  19-22,  1923 


150  FIFTH  (lAVENUE 
NEW  YORK 


INTRODUCTION 


Since  the  last  meeting  of  the  Board  your  representative  has  visited 
all  of  our  mission  stations  in  South  and  Central  Africa  except  Tavane 
and  Kabongo ;  has  met  every  missionary  but  one  and  most  of  the 
African  workers  on  our  force ;  also  many  Government  officials,  business 
men  and  representatives  of  other  Boards  and  Societies.  He  has 
attended  a  session  of  the  Annual  Conference  in  each  of  our  five 
mission  fields  and  met  with  the  Finance  Committees,  Boards  of 
Education  and  Home  Missions,  and  other  important  committees;  has 
inspected  and  photographed  our  properties ;  has  endeavored  to  make 
clear  the  position  in  which  the  Board  finds  itself  at  the  close  of  the 
Centenary  period,  and,  in  so  far  as  was  possible  in  the  time  allotted, 
to  confer  about  the  post-Centenary  askings  and  program  of  each  field 
and  station. 

In  London,  Brussels  and  Lisbon,  as  well  as  in  such  centres  as 
Cape  Town,  Durban,  Lourenco  Marques  and  Johannesburg,  opportu¬ 
nity  was  given  to  confer  with  the  Secretaries  of  the  International 
Missionary  Council  and  of  the  leading  Boards  and  Societies  having 
work  in  the  countries  visited.  Unfortunately  the  necessity  of  pro¬ 
ceeding  to  Angola  by  steamer  instead  of  overland  prevented  attendance 
at  the  South  Africa  Central  Conference  held  in  Cape  Town  early  in 
October. 

The  tour  involved  a  journey  of  more  than  thirty-two  thousand 
miles,  twenty  thousand  by  sea,  over  nine  thousand  by  rail,  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-five  on  foot,  in  hamock  or  cart  or  on  mule  back, 
and  twenty-six  hundred  by  motorcycle  or  motor  car.  These  figures, 
however,  give  an  inadequate  conception  of  the  time  required  when,  as  in 
some  cases,  trains  run  but  once  a  week  and  steamers  from  some  ports 
may  not  be  available  more  frequently  than  once  a  month. 

LIBERIA 

Our  oldest  mission  field,  after  ninety  years,  despite  a  multitude  of 
difficulties,  still  offers  a  great  missionary  opportunity.  The  Americo- 
Liberian  element  is  dying  out,  some  estimates  of  their  number  being 
as  low  as  twelve  thousand.  As  a  rule  these  descendants  of  the 
early  settlers  are  in  and  around  Monrovia,  up  the  St.  Paul  River,  or 
along  the  Coast — Marshall,  Bassa,  Greenville,  Cape  Palmas  and  other 
centres. 

Along  the  Kru  Coast  and  in  the  interior  are  native  Liberians 
numbering  from  one  to  two  millions,  still  largely  unevangelized.  A 


3 


new  movement  towards  the  Interior  is  now  taking  place  on  the  part 
of  several  Societies,  and  the  missionary  efforts  of  our  Church  should 
be  separated  from  the  old  work  which  should  be  placed  upon  a  basis 
of  self-support.  The  approaching  Centenary  of  Liberian  Methodism 
offers  the  opportunity,  and  the  Annual  Conference  appointed  a  strong 
commission,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Reverend  R.  V.  Richards,  to 
plan  for  Liberia’s  Centenary  along  lines  similar  to  those  followed 
in  America.  Strong  churches,  such  as  First  Church,  Monrovia,  with 
a  history  dating  back  to  the  founding  of  the  colony,  are  ready  not 
only  to  support  themselves  but  to  undertake  home  missionary  respon¬ 
sibilities,  and  a  Board  of  Home  Missions  was  elected  by  the  Annual 
Conference  to  develop  local  extension  into  the  Interior. 

The  most  impressive  group  of  native  African  chiefs  met  on  this 
tour  were  gathered  at  Suehn  to  meet  the  President  of  Liberia,  and  they, 
with  the  cordial  approval  of  the  Government  of  Liberia,  invite  us  to 
open  work  among  their  people  far  back  in  the  interior,  near  the  French 
border.  We  plan  to  send  out  our  first  missionaries  to  these  people  in 
1924  and  thus  start  a  new  era  in  the  work  in  our  oldest  field. 

At  this  point  we  come  into  direct  contact  with  the  advancing 
waves  of  a  militant  Mohammedanism  already  working  down  triumph¬ 
antly  to  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  As  a  rule  our  missions  lie 
farther  south  among  peoples  little  touched  as  yet  by  Islam.  We 
should  welcome  this  opportunity  to  add  our  strength  to  the  feeble 
forces  on  the  firing  line  and  make  this  frontier  mission  one  of  real 
value  and  power. 

The  material  for  the  new  leadership  in  Liberia  may  be  found 
in  the  large  number  of  students  who  have  come  to  America  for 
graduate  courses  in  Medicine,  Engineering,  Agriculture  and  Educa¬ 
tion.  The  Board  has  assisted  several  of  these  students  to  return  and 
to  devote  themselves  to  the  development  of  their  native  land.  The 
movement  is  one  of  large  promise  and  should  have  our  hearty  support. 

Liberia  is  a  land  the  charm  and  richness  of  which  are  appreciated 
more  deeply  as  one  visits  other  parts  of  Africa.  Within  its  borders 
are  unrealized  possibilities  of  development  and  self-support  rarely  found 
elsewhere.  To  a  large  extent  our  boarding  schools,  if  run  upon  simple 
agricultural  and  industrial  lines,  could  be  self-supporting.  The  new 
Board  of  Education  outlined  a  plan  for  the  strengthening  of  the  College 
of  West  Africa,  the  Cape  Palmas  Seminary,  and  ten  boarding  school 
centres,  looking  towards  the  largest  possible  development  of  native 
resources  and  self-support.  White  Plains,  Bassa,  Sasstown,  Garraway, 
Nana  Kru,  Sinoe  River,  Leonard  Mission,  Wissika,  and  new  interior 
points  have  been  selected  for  this  study. 

The  College  of  West  Africa  and  the  Stokes  Bible  Training  School 
occupy  a  key  position  in  Liberia’s  chief  town,  Monrovia.  The  College, 
including  primary  and  secondary  classes,  had  an  enrollment  of  323  in 


4 


1922  and  is  the  largest  school  in  Liberia.  One  hundred  and  sixty-three 
of  these  students  were  enrolled  in  Bible  classes  in  Stokes.  No  work 
is  now  undertaken  above  high  school  though  earnestly  desired.  The 
Board  of  Education  favors  rebuilding  and  repairing  the  old  college 
buildings  on  the  present  site,  with  the  addition  of  a  farm  within  easy 
walking  distance  for  higher  agricultural  work,  including  a  more 
healthful  boarding  department  and  with  possibilities  for  the  students 
along  the  line  of  self-support.  It  is  proposed  to  make  the  new  college 
building  the  Cox  Memorial,  utilizing  $5CXX)  already  raised  on  the  field 
and  raising  another  $5000  there  with  the  hope  that  aid  to  the  extent 
of  $15,000  may  come  from  the  United  States. 

Liberia  is  rich  in  memories,  not  only  of  our  first  martyrs,  but  of 
the  self-sacrificing  labors  of  Bishops  Taylor,  Hartzell,  Scott  and 
Camphor,  and  of  the  present  fine  service  and  personal  influence  of 
Bishop  Clair  and  the  missionaries  serving  under  him.  The  Board 
owes  a  special  debt  of  gratitude  to  Mrs.  Camphor,  who,  as  treasurer 
in  Liberia  during  these  recent  difficult  years,  has  made  a  great  con¬ 
tribution.  The  field  has  not  been  an  easy  one,  and  in  station  after 
station  one  stands  reverently  before  the  graves  of  many  who  have 
given  their  lives,  counting  them  not  dear  unto  themselves,  but  laying 
them  down  gladly  for  the  sake  of  the  people  of  Liberia  and  of  the 
dear  Lord  who  called  them,  and  who  shall  call  them  again. 


ANGOLA 

After  Liberia  our  oldest  field  is  Angola,  also  associated  with  Bishop 
Taylor  and  his  heroic  bands  of  missionaries  who  attempted  to  demon¬ 
strate  the  possibility  of  self-support  in  Africa.  On  the  bluff  overlooking 
the  old  Portuguese  city  of  Loanda,  the  largest  on  the  West  Coast,  is 
our  fine  property,  one  of  the  best  we  have  in  Africa.  One  rejoices 
to  meet  there  two  of  Bishop  Taylor’s  pioneers,  the  Reverend  and  Mrs. 
Robert  Shields,  who  have  nearly  forty  years  of  service  to  their  credit. 
The  church  built  by  Mr.  Shields  is  the  best  in  our  South  African 
field,  and  the  school,  also  an  excellent  building,  is  overcrowded  with 
an  enrollment  of  230,  making  it  the  largest  in  Loanda.  The  Cen¬ 
tenary  has  made  possible  the  addition  of  five  new  missionaries  for 
this  important  city  in  which  we  are  the  only  Protestant  mission. 

Farther  inland,  reached  by  the  railway  to  Malange,  we  have  well- 
developed  mission  stations  at  Quiongua,  at  Malange  itself,  and  Ques- 
sua,  six  miles  beyond,  all  dating  back  a  generation  or  more.  Malange 
is  a  growing  town,  a  two  days’  journey  by  rail  from  the  Coast,  which 
will  be  the  junction  point  later  for  diverging  lines  to  the  Congo 
borders,  north  and  east.  Quiongua  and  Quessua  have  been  strength¬ 
ened  materially  as  a  result  of  the  Centenary,  the  latter  completely 
rebuilt  on  a  new  and  more  healthful  site.  The  Woman’s  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  has  just  provided  $20,000  for  its  fine  new  plant  at 
Quessua,  consisting  of  school,  mission  house,  dispensary  and  dormi- 


5 


tory  system.  The  work  is  practically  completed  and  the  new  scliool 
should  open  before  the  end  of  1923,  under  very  promising  conditions. 
The  Society  plans  to  have  four  or  five  missionaries  as  their  quota  in 
this  Central  Training  Institute  for  Angola. 


The  work  of  our  Board  is  represented  by  an  excellent  bungalow 
of  five  rooms,  another  under  erection  for  which  funds  are  awaited 
anxiously,  and  a  line  or  two  of  shops  and  dormitories.  These  are 
built  at  very  low  cost,  the  walls  being  of  adobe.  The  tile  roofs  and 
the  zinc  sheets  for  protecting  the  houses  against  white  ants  are  the 
chief  items  of  expense.  In  addition,  a  large  church,  to  seat  one 
thousand,  is  being  built  from  the  tithes  of  the  missionaries  and  native 
church  members.  An  organized  Sunday  school  of  four  hundred  is  an 
inspiring  feature  and  no  available  building  is  sufficient  to  hold  the 
present  congregation,  even  though  the  girls’  school  is  not  yet  open. 
Some  fear  is  expressed  that  the  new  church  may  prove  too  small, 
especially  for  Conference  and  other  great  occasions!  The  Board  is 
represented  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kipp,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edling  and  Mr. 
Longworth,  the  last  three  sent  out  on  Centenary  funds.  Agricultural 
and  industrial  training  is  provided  and  the  future  of  this  promising 
centre  depends  upon  continued  support  by  the  Church. 


Quiongua  is  forty  miles  south  of  the  railway,  below  Pungo 
Andongo,  one  of  the  stations  occupied  in  Bishop  Taylor’s  time  and 
notable  as  the  place  where  David  Livingstone  spent  some  six  months 
after  reaching  the  West  Coast.  We  have  no  missionaries  at  Pungo 
.Andongo  now,  having  concentrated  at  the  more  promising  point  of 
Quiongua,  with  Mr.  Nelson  in  charge,  where  we  have  some  good 
ljuildings,  a  school  of  150,  and  a  small,  but  active,  dispensary  and 
hospital  under  Doctor  Kemp  and  Miss  Eckstromer,  a  trained  nurse. 
It  is  planned  to  extend  the  work  into  the  unoccupied  Labollo  territory 
south  of  the  Coanza  River,  as  it  is  also  planned  to  extend  our  lines 
from  Malange  over  to  the  Belgian  Congo  border,  where  we  touch  the 
Lunda  people  who  are  found  in  strength  on  both  sides  of  the  Kassai 
River.  A  new  center,  one  hundred  miles  east  of  Malange,  was  visited 
and  favorably  considered  as  a  suitable  site  for  an  advanced  station 
which  we  may  be  able  to  occupy  in  1924  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wengatz 
return  from  furlough. 


The  Mission  is  rejoicing  over  the  receipt  of  the  first  copies  of  the 
New  Testament  in  Kimbundu,  the  result  of  many  years  of  painstaking 
labor  by  the  Reverend  li.  C.  Withey,  whose  entire  time  is  now  being 
given  to  literary  work  for  this  field.  Some  difficulties  have  been 
pdaced  by  the  Government  in  the  way  of  the  circulation  of  books  in 
native  languages,  but  it  is  hoped  that  these  will  be  waived  in  the 
case  of  the  Scriptures  and  that  the  steps  now  being  taken  will  be 
successful  in  opening  the  way  for  the  circulation  of  this  fine  new 
work,  provided  for  with  the  aid  of  the  British  and  Eoreign  Bible 
Society. 


6 


SOUTHEAST  AFRICA 


From  Angola  one  sails  to  Cape  Town  and  proceeds  by  rail  or 
steamer  to  Lourenco  Marques,  to  connect  with  a  local  steamer  for 
Inhambane.  The  trip  to  Cape  Town  took  ten  days,  the  steamer  being 
delayed  by  fog.  The  journey  by  rail  to  Durban  required  a  week  of 
steady  travel,  but  included  opportunities  to  visit  Healdtown  and 
Lovedale,  two  of  the  great  schools  of  South  Africa.  The  magnificent 
harbor  of  Cape  Town  and  the  beauty  of  the  city  and  its  surroundings 
and  of  many  other  parts  of  South  Africa  surprise  and  charm  the 
traveller.  The  pleasure  is  increased  by  the  ride  through  beautiful 
Natal  to  Durban,  another  fine  seaport.  The  American  Board  has  a 
notable  work  in  Natal  and  two  busy  days  were  spent  there.  A  trip  of 
twenty-six  hours  by  steamer  brings  one  to  the  important  harbor  of 
Delao-oa  Bay,  where,  after  a  week’s  delay,  a  steamer  was  taken  to 
Inhambane,  requiring  thirty  hours  additional. 

Sailing  up  the  Coast  the  steamer  enters  the  Inhambane  Bay,  pro¬ 
ceeding  due  west.  The  town  of  Inhambane  lies  on  the  southern  shore 
of  the  Bay.  Our  mission  is  located  on  a  high  bluff  at  Gikuki,  on 
the  northern  shore,  five  miles  away  from  Inhambane  and  reached  by 
sailboat.  Here,  on  a  property  of  twenty  acres,  reside  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Stauffacher,  Mr.  Bush,  Miss  Roush  of  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  and  Mrs.  Gaudin,  a  trained  nurse  representing  the  Free 
Methodist  Society,  which  is  cooperating  in  the  fine  medical  work  at 
Gikiki,  where  more  than  eighteen  thousand  cases  are  treated  yearly. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Morton,  recently  sent  to  this  mission,  will  cary  on  the 
medical  work  during  the  furlough  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Stauffacher  in  1924. 

The  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society  has  acquired  an  excel¬ 
lent  piece  of  ground  a  half  mile  farther  east  on  the  bluff  and  their 
school  of  one  hundred  girls  will  be  transferred  as  soon  as  the  necessary 
buildings  are  erected. 

At  Caponi,  a  mile  or  so  farther  west  on  the  shore,  the  Wit- 
watersrand  Native  Labor  Association  operates  one  of  its  most  important 
recruiting  stations.  Some  five  hundred  men  are  sent  on  each  week 
to  Johannesburg  to  join  the  four  hundred  thousand  or  more  needed  to 
operate  the  mines  of  this  greatest  city  of  South  Africa.  The  men  arc 
well  cared  for  and  many  return  for  further  service  and  to  secure 
funds  for  taxes  and  for  marriage.  Johannesburg  makes  a  mighty 
impression  upon  the  youth  of  Southeast  Africa  and  the  twenty-five 
thousand  men  pouring  in  and  out  each  year  are  transformed  and  are 
transforming  the  life  of  the  villages  from  which  they  come  and  to 
which  they  return. 

Unfortunately,  notwithstanding  the  care  which  is  exercised  by  the 
Association  and  by  the  specialists  employed  by  the  Chamber  of  Mines, 
many  return  in  poor  health  after  the  great  change  from  the  tropical 
sea  coast  to  underground  work  in  an  altitude  equal  to  that  of  Denver. 
Our  mission  is  planning  to  cooperate  with  the  Association  in  social, 
medical  and  religious  work  for  these  men,  as  they  come  and  go. 


7 


Our  representative  at  Johannesburg,  Mr.  Terril,  is  exceedingly  busy 
trying  to  follow  up  the  thousands  who  come  each  year  from  our 
territory  in  Inhambane  and  who  are  distributed  for  eighty  miles 
along  the  Rand.  A  congregation  of  eight  hundred  men  greeted  us 
one  Sunday  morning  in  a  borrowed  hall,  and  presented  resolutions 
earnestly  requesting  aid  in  securing  the  central  church  which  they 
need  so  greatly  as  a  headquarters.  The  cost  is  estimated  at  $15,000. 
Other  meeting  places  at  widely  separated  mines  can  be  built  with  funds 
raised  locally.  Our  members  now  support  seventy-five  local  preachers, 
exhorters  and  teachers,  and  the  four  preachers  in  charge,  and  a  valu¬ 
able  work  is  being  done.  During  the  recent  famine  large  sums  of 
money  were  sent  by  these  men  to  relieve  sufYering  at  home  and  they 
contribute  steadily  to  their  home  pastors  also. 

At  Kambini,  thirty  miles  from  Gikuki,  our  mission  has  its  Central 
Training  School  and  the  Inhambane  Mission  Press,  the  latter  one  of 
the  best  we  have  in  Africa  and  practically  self-supporting.  The  tract 
of  twelve  hundred  acres  is  very  rich  and  unusually  well  watered.  The 
force  has  been  strengthened  through  the  Centenary,  but  is  still  incom¬ 
plete  to  assure  a  well-equipped  school.  Plans  are  made  and  rein¬ 
forcements  are  available,  and  the  future  of  this  important  centre  rests 
with  the  Church. 

In  the  Manjacaze  circumscription,  near  the  Limpopo  River  in  the 
South,  we  have  a  third  of  our  Christian  community.  Our  missionaries 
are  living  in  native  huts,  though  these  are  screened  and  have  cement 
floors.  We  expect  to  build  this  year,  as  soon  as  title  to  the  new  site 
is  obtained.  Our  missionaries,  with  this  addition,  will  be  fairly  well 
housed,  but  we  do  not  have  a  single  satisfactory  church  or  school 
building  in  the  chief  stations  of  Southeast  Africa.  This  condition  should 
be  remedied  at  the  earliest  date  possible.  An  expenditure  of  $5000 
in  each  of  the  three  main  stations  would  provide  a  satisfactory  begin¬ 
ning  and  give  much  encouragement  to  our  devoted  missionaries  in 
that  difficult  field. 

The  evangelization  of  the  territory  from  the  Limpopo  to  the  Sabi 
River,  with  a  population  estimated  at  a  million,  is  left  to  our  Church. 
We  must  strengthen  the  stations  already  occupied  and  open  others, 
especially  to  the  North,  to  meet  this  responsibility.  A  further  stretch 
of  territory  from  the  Beira-Umtali  Railroad  to  the  Zambezi  River 
has  been  assigned  to  us  and  waiting  fifteen  years  for  us  to  occupy  it. 
It  is  felt  that  this  extension,  owing  to  governmental  conditions,  should 
proceed  from  Portuguese  territory  and  be  conducted  by  missionaries 
and  African  workers  who  know  the  Portuguese  language.  There  is  a 
sensitiveness  with  regard  to  any  approach  from  British  territory  which 
makes  work  across  the  Rhodesia  line  unwelcome  and  inadvisable. 

RHODESIA 

Two  days  in  a  little  Portuguese  steamer  of  nine  hundred  tons 
brought  us  from  Inhambane  to  Beira,  and  after  a  wait  of  two  days 


8 


a  train  carried  us  in  one  night  to  Umtali.  The  scenery  as  one  rises 
through  the  mountains  to  an  altitude  of  three  thousand  feet  is  charm¬ 
ing.  Umtali,  Old  Umtali,  Mutambara  and  the  stations  in  the  North, 
Mrewa  and  Mtoko,  remind  one  of  Colorado.  The  railway  and  motor 
car  help  to  bind  our  Rhodesian  Mission  closely  together  and  it  was 
possible  to  visit  the  stations  in  a  week  of  steady  travel,  leaving  another 
week  for  Conference  and  committee  meetings. 

Fifteen  hundred  Christians  gathered  for  Native  Assembly  Day, 
preceding  Conference  at  Old  Umtali ;  and  a  thousand  took  communion 
in  the  impressive  open  air  service  held  in  the  warm  sunlight  of  a 
typical  Rhodesian  winter  morning.  Later  the  people  came  forward  by 
village  groups,  the  ninety-eight  pastors  and  teachers  leading  their 
contingents.  Many  had  walked  twenty  or  more  miles  and  some  had 
come  several  days’  journey  to  be  present.  The  influence  of  ^he 
mission  on  the  people  was  apparent  and  yet,  as  Dr.  Gurney  remarked, 
“There  was  not  a  native  Christian  in  this  whole  section  when  I  came 
here  twenty  years  ago.”  In  the  afternoon  a  revival  meeting  was 
held — also,  of  necessity,  out  of  doors — and  the  people  crowded  forward 
at  the  invitation  of  Bishop  Johnson,  seeking  a  deeper  work  of  grace 
in  their  hearts.  Nowhere  is  the  value  of  the  work  we  are  doing 
in  Africa  more  apparent  than  in  and  about  the  strong  centre  of  Old 
Umtali.  The  influence  of  this  school  is  felt  for  many  miles  and  it  is, 
today,  perhaps  the  best  manned  school  in  Rhodesia,  through  the 
recent  additions  supplied  by  the  Centenary  and  largely  supported  by 
the  Government. 

Our  missionaries  in  British  territory  have  much  for  which  to  be 
thankful.  The  Government  recognizes  the  value  and  need  of  missionary 
work  and  leaves  the  education  of  the  native  largely  to  the  Churches, 
aiding  them  as  liberally  as  available  funds  permit.  It  insists,  properly, 
upon  high  standards,  and  our  Board  and  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Mis¬ 
sionary  Society  are  winning  commendation  for  the  well-trained  mis¬ 
sionaries  now  on  the  field  and  for  the  character  of  the  work  done 
at  Old  Umtali  and  Mutambara.  Agricultural  and  industrial  education 
have  a  large  part,  along  with  normal,  literary  and  Bible  training,  and 
the  attitude  and  aid  of  the  Government  result  in  a  supply  of  African 
assistants  not  available  in  other  fields  where  conditions  are  so  much 
more  difficult. 


Our  school  at  Old  Umtali  is  hampered  by  the  lack  of  a  suitable 
building.  The  small  and  makeshift  quarters  now  used  which  came 
to  us  with  the  gift  of  the  site,  are  said  by  the  Inspector  to  be  unworthy 
of  the  standing  of  our  mission  and  of  the  missionaries  we  have  sent 
out.  Rhodesia  feels  most  keenly  the  need  of  a  central  school  building. 
The  sum  of  $15,000,  provided  during  the  next  three  years,  would 
enable  us  to  meet  this  great  need. 

In  the  North  our  stations  he  on  the  border  of  large  native  reserves 
containing  some  sixty-five  thousand  people.  As  the  amount  of  ground 


9 


available  to  missions  in  reserves  is  limited  to  ten  acres,  the  Government 
has  just  granted  us  a  tract  of  four  thousand  acres  lying  outside  the 
reserve,  but  between  the  stations  of  Mrewa  and  Mtoko.  Here,  at  Nyadiri, 
it  is  proposed  to  develop  a  strong  training  centre  for  the  North,  in 
which  the  Board  and  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society  will 
cooperate,  as  they  do  so  effectively  throughout  Africa.  Our  chief 
missionary  opportunity  in  Rhodesia  is  in  this  country  to  the  North. 
Dr.  Gurney  and  Mr.  Tull  are  now  at  work  at  Nyadiri,  using  available 
designated  funds  for  the  beginnings  of  the  hospital  and  missionary 
homes.  The  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society  will  commence 
building  immediately  and  is  providing  for  three  of  their  missionaries  to 
be  stationed  there.  The  whole  mission  is  enthused  over  this  advance 
and  the  prospects  of  the  speedy  evangelization  of  thousands  of  people 
who  are  highly  responsive  to  the  presentation  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
claims  of  Christ  upon  their  lives. 

Rhodesia  has  a  well  equipped  printing  plant  turning  out  excellent 
work.  It  is  the  hope  of  Mr.  Gardner  that  this  may  be  made  fully  self- 
supporting  in  the  near  future,  especially  now  that  there  is  new  equip¬ 
ment  in  hand  with  which  to  print  a  number  of  needed  books  prepared 
in  Chiminyika  by  our  veteran  missionary  and  authority.  Dr.  Greeley. 
In  Unitali  we  have  strong  English  and  native  churches,  in  which  Mr. 
James  and  Mr.  Gates  have  rendered  valuable  service.  These  churches 
minister  to  a  community  rather  subject  to  constant  change,  but  are 
self-supporting  to  the  extent  of  the  missionary  time  given  to  them. 

CONGO 

Our  youngest  and  largest  field  in  the  South  Africa  Central  Con¬ 
ference  lies  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Belgian  Congo,  beginning  at 
Elizabethvillc,  the  rapidly  growing  capital  of  the  rich  Katanga,  and 
extending  north  to  Kabongo  and  west  to  the  Angola  border.  We 
minister  to  thousands  who  come  from  Congo  and  Rhodesia  to  work 
in  the  amazing  copper  mines  of  Katanga ;  to  practically  all  of  the 
Lunda  speaking  people  of  the  southwest,  and  a  large  section  of  Baluba 
about  Kabongo.  Bachiokwe  are  coming  in  from  Angola  in  large  num¬ 
bers,  and  other  smaller  language  groups  are  encountered  as  one  travels 
through  this  section  staked  out  by  Dr.  Springer  some  ten  years  ago  as 
our  field. 

Elizabethville  may  be  reached  by  rail  from  Cape  Town  in  five 
days,  or  from  Beira,  through  Rhodesia,  in  four  days.  The  mountain 
scenery  of  Eastern  Rhodesia  is  succeeded  by  level  country  covered  with 
“bush,”  the  low  forest  growth  which  spreads  all  along  the  route 
through  Northern  Rhodesia  and  the  Southwestern  Congo,  interspersed 
with  stretches  of  tall  grass  and  low  vleis,  or  marshes.  The  grass 
grows  yellow  in  the  dry  season  and  great  fires  are  kindled  to  burn  it 
off  and  drive  out  the  plentiful  small  game.  All  along  the  route  in 
July  the  fires  were  burning,  sometimes  rather  too  close  for  comfort! 
The  trains,  with  sleeping  and  dining  cars,  are  excellent.  The  direct 


10 


service  ends,  for  the  present,  at  Bukama,  one  day’s  run  north  of 
Elizabethville,  but  one  may  proceed  on  to  Cairo  by  boat  and  short 
stretches  of  railway,  and  the  completion  of  the  famous  route  in  the 
not  distant  future  seems  assured. 


Elizabethville  is  a  growing  city  on  the  level  plain,  built  in  the 
midst  of  a  forest  of  white-ant  hills,  tree  covered  and  often  taller  than 
the  bungalows  built  beside  them.  The  Belgian  Government  allots  all 
land  and  controls  building,  which  must  be  of  burned  brick  and  cement, 
with  iron  or  other  durable  roofing.  The  expense  is  considerable,  as 
much  material  must  come  in  by  the  long  rail  routes.  The  rich  mines 
of  the  mineral  district,  with  their  great  smelters  and  concentrating 
plants,  employ  hundreds  of  foreigners  in  addition  to  some  twenty 
thousand  natives.  Our  mission  is  the  only  important  Protestant  agency 
at  work  and  nowhere  else  are  we  so  much  in  the  eye  of  the  public  as 
m  this  Johannesburg  of  the  North.  The  mine  compounds,  in  which 
the  natives  are  housed,  stretch  out  in  all  directions.  We  saw  thirteen, 
some  holding  several  thousand  men.  To  minister  to  these  accessible 
but  changing  groups  we  need  a  strong  force  of  well-trained  men  under 
adequate  leadership.  We  have  an  opportunity  to  serve  other  missions 
whose  members  come  from  long  distances  to  work  in  the  mines  and  to 
luake  unnecessary  the  multiplication  of  competing  agencies,  so  wasteful 
elsewhere.  If,  however,  we  accept  this  responsibility,  we  must  not 
expect  one  overburdened  missionary  to  carry  the  load,  as  in  the  past. 


The  present  church  and  school,  holding  three  hundred,  is  often 
crowded  to  the  doors.  The  city  has  granted  us  valuable  property 
adjoining  and  in  just  the  right  location,  but  we  must  build  on  it  at 
once  to  hold  it.  We  need  a  church  seating  six  hundred  and  it  will 
cost  not  less  than  $12,000.  The  present  building  will  do  for  school 
and  social  service  work.  In  another  part  of  the  town,  admirably 
located,  we  have  been  granted  five  lots,  bordering  on  three  main 
avenues,  for  work  among  foreign  residents.  We  must  minister  to  the 
hundreds  of  Protestants  who  come  to  live  in  the  mineral  district  and 
who  become  so  important  a  factor  in  dealing  with  the  Africans  under 
their  direction.  The  great  Catholic  cathedral,  the  walls  and  roof  of 
which  have  cost  $50,000,  is  but  one  of  the  many  buildings  erected  by 
the  active  representatives  of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  Elizabethville.  To 
minister  to  the  needs  of  the  Protestant  community  there  should  be  an 
attractive  church  or  chapel,  a  hostel  and  school  for  children  of  Prot¬ 
estants,  including  missionaries,  and  social  rooms  for  work  along 
Christian  Association  lines.  It  would  be  a  wise  investment  to  expend 
from  $50,000  to  $100,000  in  Elizabethville  at  this  point  in  its  develop¬ 
ment,  and  to  maintain  a  force  of  three  or  four  missionaries  as  a 
minimum.  Excellent  social  and  religious  work  is  being  done  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Dana  at  the  great  Panda-Likasi  mine,  ninety  miles  farther 
north,  and  at  Kambove,  one  of  our  older  stations,  where  the  Guptills 
have  been  located,  but  our  forces  in  the  mineral  district  are  all  too 
weak  for  the  task  in  hand. 


11 


To  reach  our  other  stations  at  Kabongo,  Kinda,  Sandoa  and 
Kapanga,  a  journey  of  many  weeks  is  required.  Fortunately  the 
Government  is  laying  stress  upon  the  widening  and  improving  of  the 
old  paths  and  motor  cars  are  coming  into  use.  Conference  was  called 
for  Kapanga,  the  station  opened  ten  years  ago  at  the  seat  of  Mwata 
Yamvo’s  capital.  A  Ford  car,  the  first  to  come  into  the  Katanga  by 
way  of  Boma  on  the  West  Coast  and  up  the  Congo  River,  was  secured 
by  the  mission  on  very  favorable  terms,  and  in  this  the  journey  which 
usually  required  a  month  was  made  in  seventeen  days,  including  stops 
at  Panda-Likasi,  Kambove,  Kinda  and  Sandoa.  Cars  have  been  run¬ 
ning  as  far  as  Sandoa,  but  this  was  the  first  to  reach  Kapanga,  one 
hundred  and  three  miles  beyond,  though  this  involved  a  good  deal 
of  voluntary  aid  to  the  Government  in  the  way  of  strengthening 
scores  of  bridges  and  dikes  through  the  well-watered  valley  of  the 
Lulua. 

The  Conference  at  Kapanga  was  notable  in  that  it  was  the  first 
held  there  and  the  first  attended  by  all  of  the  missionary  members. 
Hitherto  attendance  at  Conference  has  meant  that  some  missionaries 
have  had  to  be  absent  from  their  stations  for  two  or  even  three 
months,  and  all  could  not  leave.  The  need  of  a  central  station  where 
the  mission  might  gather  more  quickly  and  where  a  training  institution 
might  be  established  was  felt  keenly.  Plans  are  now  under  way  to 
develop  such  a  center  at  Kinda,  not  more  than  five  or  six  days’  journey 
from  the  other  stations,  but  even  the  occupation  of  this  desirable  site 
must  await  the  coming  of  more  missionaries  to  this  large  field. 
Kabongo,  to  the  north,  in  the  centre  of  hundreds  of  villages  otherwise 
untouched,  presents  one  of  the  urgent  appeals  for  a  larger  force. 
We  have  not  “occupied”  the  Congo,  but  we  have  planted  our  stakes 
in  key  positions  and  there  are  strong  reasons  why  not  less  than  half 
a  dozen  new  missionaries  should  be  sent  to  this  field  without  delay. 

The  opening  of  our  new  station  at  Sandoa  by  Mr.  Brinton  who, 
in  his  previous  term  of  service,  translated  the  Gospels  and  Acts  into 
Lunda;  the  building  of  the  new  mission  house  and  hospital  at  Kapanga 
by  Dr.  Piper  with  funds  provided  by  the  Detroit  Area;  the  selection 
of  a  suitable  site  and  the  occupation  of  Kinda;  the  building 
of  the  new  house  and  social  centre  at  Panda-Likasi,  and  the  extension 
of  our  lines  in  the  rich  Kabongo  territory,  are  some  of  the  recent 
notable  achievements  in  the  Congo. 

Your  missionaries,  young,  eager  and  untiring,  long  to  press  into 
the  ripe  fields  all  about  them.  A  cut  would  be  a  severe  blow  to 
ardent  spirits_  glad  to  pioneer,  to  live  in  mud  huts  and  under  thatched 
roofs,  in  tropical  heat  and  in  loneliness  for  the  Master’s  sake. 

CONCLUSIONS 

It  was  a  great  privilege  to  journey  with  Bishop  Johnson  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  his  immense  area  involving,  as  it  did,  con¬ 
tinuous  travel  from  April  twenty-seven,  when  we  sailed  from  Loanda, 


12 


to  August  twelfth,  when  our  paths  separated  at  Mafeking,  on  the  way 
down  from  the  Congo.  Cape  Town,  central  as  it  is  from  the  standpoint 
of  accessibility,  is  a  week’s  journey  from  Loanda.  To  reach  Inhambane 
requires  one  to  two  weeks,  depending  on  connections  at  Delagoa  Bay, 
and  Umtali  or  Elizabethville  are  as  far  away  by  rail  as  is  the  Pacific 
Coast  from  New  York.  Yet  these  are  the  nearest  and  easiest  points 
to  touch  in  the  four  Conferences.  The  farthest  points  require  from 
two  weeks  to  a  month  to  reach  and  are  as  far  from  Cape  Town  in 
point  of  time  as  Shanghai  or  parts  of  South  America  are  from  the 
headquarters  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 


The  area  contains  territory  under  British,  Belgian  and  Portuguese 
rule.  The  problems  of  nationality  and  of  language,  European  and 
native,  are  many,  and  to  deal  with  them  requires  tact  and  consideration 
of  a  high  order.  Bishop  Johnson  is  giving  himself  to  the  diversified 
problems  of  his  area,  including  those  of  language,  with  a  devotion 
which  deserves  our  recognition  and  hearty  appreciation.  His  interest 
in  the  native  ministry  is  notable,  and  the  coming  of  “our  Bishop”  is  an 
event  to  which  they  look  forward  eagerly.  The  Bishop  holds  a  unique 
place  in  the  regard  and  affection  of  our  Wesleyan  brethren,  the  leaders 
in  Christian  work  in  South  Africa  with  their  600,000  members  and 
adherents,  and  in  Johannesburg  and  Cape  Town  we  enjoyed  their  cor¬ 
dial  fellowship.  Though  we  are  working  among  different  peoples,  we 
profit  by  their  fine  example  in  the  development  of  native  leadership. 
In  Johannesburg  they  have  seven  hundred  and  fifty  local  preachers 
and  teachers  at  work  along  the  Rand,  all  locally  supported,  and  we, 
even  with  our  recent  beginning,  have  seventy-five  on  the  same  basis. 


As  a  result  of  such  a  tour,  one  feels  keenly  conscious  of  the 
isolation  of  tropical  Africa.  Rarely  do  the  missionaries  and  admin¬ 
istrators  have  the  privilege  of  contact  with  the  other  great  mission 
fields  of  the  world.  The  various  fields  in  which  missionaries  are  at 
work  are  also  separated  widely  and  communications  within  the  fields 
are  often  slow  and  difficult.  Some  of  our  mission  stations  are  as  far 
apart  in  time  as  China  is  from  India,  or  New  York  from  Riode  Janeiro. 
This  isolation  of  continent,  field  and  mission  is  one  which  must  be 
overcome  by  providing  for  helpful  contacts.  Conferences  with  other 
missionaries  on  the  field,  visits  from  those  familiar  with  conditions 
elsewhere,  and  special  gatherings  of  African  missionaries  on  furlough, 
for  prayer  and  counsel,  should  be  provided  for  if  the  largest  results 
are  to  be  secured.  Successful  methods  in  one  field  may  not  be  known 
a  few  days’  journey  away,  and  many  a  lonely  missionary  burns  the 
midnight  oil  and  depletes  his  strength  in  the  struggle  to  learn  by 
experience  what  comes  easily  to  missionaries  in  other  fields  through 
their  more  frequent  contacts  in  hill  stations  and  other  accessible 
gathering  places.  It  would  be  a  wise  investment  of  time  and  money 
to  seek  means  of  overcoming  this  outstanding  need  of  our  African 
fields. 


13 


What  has  been  said  on  this  subject  applies  with  peculiar  force 
to  Liberia.  Hemmed  in  by  British  and  French  possessions  none  too 
friendly,  and  with  afltiliations  chiefly  American,  though  treated  as  an 
orphan  rather  than  a  child,  Liberia  has  few  missionaries  of  any  Board 
with  experience  outside  of  its  own  borders  or  the  United  States  of 
America.  Situations  which  seem  insoluble  in  Liberia  do  not  so  appear 
to  those  who  have  had  experience  elsewhere  in  Africa  or  in  other  and 
larger  areas.  It  is  unfortunate  indeed  that  the  very  interest  which 
America  has  felt  in  Liberia  has  tended  to  limit  some  important  Boards 
to  this  field  and  to  make  unnecessary  the  coming  in  of  British  and 
continental  organizations  with  their  long  and  rich  experience,  while 
political,  racial,  and  social  conditions  have  tended  to  restrict  the  range 
of  those  at  work  in  Liberia  to  its  own  Coast.  Some  of  these  problems 
are  of  the  first  magnitude  and  call  for  the  clearest  and  coolest  thinking. 
Bishop  Clair,  the  beloved  leader  of  as  loyal  and  devoted  a  body  of 
missionaries  as  we  have  in  any  field,  should  not  be  restricted  to  one 
comparatively  small  Conference  when  there  is  so  much  need  elsewhere 
and  when  this  restriction  is  in  itself  a  handicap.  It  is  a  question  if 
more  cannot  be  achieved  in  the  next  ten  years  by  bringing  Liberia 
into  closer  contact  with  our  other  missions  in  Africa  or  those  fields 
in  which  similar  problems  are  being  faced  and  solved. 

The  policy  of  concentration  upon  centres  of  higher  training  is 
producing  results  in  every  field.  The  Conference  programs  are  de¬ 
veloping  in  breadth  and  unity.  Greater  emphasis  needs  to  be  placed 
upon  the  selection  of  a  well-rounded  staff  for  each  main  centre  and 
the  necessary  continuity  in  qualified  leadership  which  is  essential  to 
success  in  working  among  Africans.  Personal  influence  is  an  enormous 
factor  among  people  who  move  easily  and  who  lack  the  restraints  of 
civilizations  like  those  of  India  and  China.  African  students  will  go 
any  distance  to  a  school  where  they  know  they  will  get  results  and 
they  leave  as  easily  if  they  are  disappointed. 

The  secret  of  success  in  Africa  rests  predominantly  upon  a  trained 
indigenous  leadership  and  our  schools  must  be  manned  and  equipped 
to  produce  results  in  character  and  training  on  lines  similar  to  those 
which  have  proved  so  successful  in  our  own  Southern  States. 

Work  in  Africa,  as  elsewhere  among  primitive  people,  requires 
an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  strange  customs  and  traditions  of  the 
people,  often  varying  greatly  in  neighboring  tribes.  Many  languages 
are  still  waiting  to  be  reduced  to  writing.  In  addition,  the  majority 
of  our  missionaries  have  to  master  Portuguese  or  French,  the  official 
languages  of  Angola,  Inhambane  and  the  Congo.  It  is  important  that 
all  who  go  out  should  understand  how  to  maintain  health  in  a  difficult 
climate.  Perhaps  in  no  other  field  must  the  missionary  rely  so  largely 
upon  himself  or  the  little  circle  of  the  station  for  all  the  needs  of  daily 
life  and  work.  There  are,  therefore,  urgent  reasons  why  our  mission¬ 
aries  to  Africa  should  have  special  opportunity  for  preparation  before 
going  to  the  field  and  when  on  furlough.  The  policy  of  the  Board 
in  this  regard  during  the  Centenary  period  has  amply  justified  itself. 


14 


Even  greater  emphasis  is  needed  upon  the  mastery  of  the  official 
language  before  entering  upon  the  life  on  the  field,  and  the  necessary 
provision  should  be  made  for  this  in  every  case,  either  in  the  Field 
Budgets  or  by  Special  Grant. 

This  report  "would  be  incomplete  without  expressing  the  deep 
thankfulness  to  the  Heavenly  Father  which  one  feels  who  has  had  a 
tour  such  as  this.  The  hearty  welcome  and  beautiful  hospitality  every¬ 
where  extended,  the  self-forgetful  helpfulness  of  our  Bishops  and  mis¬ 
sionaries,  and  the  loving  and  undying  devotion  of  their  Christlike 
service,  touch  the  heart  and  refresh  the  spirit  of  whoever  is  so  fortunate 
as  to  come  into  the  circle  of  their  influence.  And  through  it  all  one 
sees  the  people  of  Africa,  patient,  gentle,  winsome  and  strong,  so 
needy  and  yet  so  earnest  and  responsive  to  the  message  of  love  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  longs  for  the  day  to  come  when  all  may  know  Him, 
whom  to  know  aright  is  Life  Eternal,  and  be  changed  into  the  same 
image. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

THOS.  S.  DONOHUGH. 


15 


